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Investigation Update on the Aurora

Number of passengers who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 145 of 1727 (8.40%)

Number of crew who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 8 of 850 (0.94%)

Predominant symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea

Causative agent: Norovirus

Actions: In response to the outbreak, P & O Cruises and the crew aboard the ship have taken the following actions:

Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan,

Made announcements to both notify onboard passengers of the outbreak and encourage case reporting,

Collected stool specimens from ill passengers and crew for submission to the CDC lab,

Made daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to the VSP,

Consulted with CDC on plans for:

Next cruise passenger notification procedures and draft letter, which will be sent to passengers on the following voyage prior to their embarkation day, January 26, 2012, about this outbreak and the planned delayed embarkation schedule, and

Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist will board the ship on arrival in San Francisco, CA, on January 25, 2012, to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Stool specimens will be sent to the CDC lab for testing.